Testimonials: Logs and more

Did You Know?

Did you know that, depending on the species, a recently felled tree can contain a moisture content somewhere in the region of 60%? Freshly cut logs, like those you may purchase from service station forecourts, will often contain around one pint of water per log! And that is a very inefficient way to warm your home.

When you burn logs with a high moisture content, a large amount of energy released from the log will be used to boil off that pint of water. This is before it even begins to heat your room. So if your logs crackle, pop, and give off steam, you’ll know that you’ve purchased inferior firewood.

However, some moisture content in a log is a good thing. If it is too dry, it will not only burn too quickly, but will also increase emissions. This is why Woodsure ready-to-burn logs are guaranteed to have a moisture content between 12% and 20%. This will both maximise heat efficiency and decrease carbon emissions.

Here at Elcombe, we are proud to sell Woodsure ready-to-burn kiln-dried logs. https://elcombefirewood.co.uk/product-category/logs/kiln-dried-logs/ 

We carry the official Woodsure ready-to-burn logo and recommend them, not only for their efficiency, but for their benefits on the environment. Burning kiln-dried logs in a wood burner will reduce your carbon emissions to just 3%. Should you wish to upgrade to a new SIA Ecodesign stove, those emissions will reduce even further, to just 1%. And that’s a statistic which is guaranteed to warm your heart as well as your home!.

On the night of December 8th, 2017, two fire crews from Newton Abott responded to a suspected carbon monoxide alert. At the address, their meter quickly detected gas. They checked around the log burner and the gas reading continued. When they noticed a bucket filled with ash next to the burner, they kindly offered to empty it. However, when they discovered the ash was still warm, they had a hunch. They held their detector over the embers and it suddenly went into full alarm.

When they removed the crust on the ash, exposing the warmer embers below, the carbon monoxide reading went from 129 PPM to 378 PPM. This is enough to cause headache and nausea after an hour’s exposure and a threat to life after two hours. The warm ash was producing dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, and the tenant was only saved from serious harm because she had a CO alarm fitted.

Our advice, of course, is to not leave ash inside your property once it has been swept from your wood burner. It should be removed at once and disposed of in a safe place in the open air. Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas produced by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels. Have your chimney swept and your stove serviced regularly. Only use wood that is certified to have 25% or less moisture content. Have a carbon monoxide alarm fitted. Stay safe.